Daily Archive

The Daily Express print edition, March 8, pg 3 (no apparent online link available):

At the tender age of 11, Victoria Hunt has had to learn that multi-cultural Britain is no longer a land fit for heroes.

She is taught that ugly truth every time she dons her Sea Cadets uniform for drill practice in Peterborough’s city centre. Victoria must brave volleys of abuse and jibes from gangs of local louts for proudly wearing the group’s smart navy colours.

Incredibly, she is also subjected to taunts from adults, who shout “murderer” and “scum”.

Her appalling treatment was revealed yesterday by her father, Garry Hunt, who is chairman of the British Legion in Peterborough.

He blames thuggish youngsters from among Iraqi and Afghan communities in the city for targeting service personnel for attacks…

…Mr Hunt singled out a small hardcore among the city’s refugee communities for being behind the outrage.

Most readers expect news gatherers always to strive to uncover additional facts. Those help readers better to focus on the issue at hand. However, yesterday — and still today — other than use of the likes of the highly descriptive term “the public,” major media has avoided any detailed effort to provide global readers with any degree of true “culprit specificity” on this matter.

Instead, too many seem much to prefer instead to focus primarily on “the outrage”. Yet about whose actions are we to be “outraged”? Apparently, those of “small minorities“, within “the public”. And when needing to delve into something other than “the outrage” (how many “outraged” comments can anyone actually read?), we are also provided examples of those who wear their uniform proudly.

The Mail in particular is partial to attractive servicewomen. And while this blog certainly is outraged and, of course, has nothing against attractive women, media’s measured efforts to dance around an uncomfortable issue almost never works for long. Drip, drip, drip . . . eventually a measure of actual specificity starts to seep out.